Flipping Burgers

I read the New York Times online and often check out the feature, "most e-mailed article."  Today's lead article was an opinion piece on raising successful children.  The author, psychologist Madeline Levine, recently wrote a book about parenting and summarizes some of her advice in this column. She notes that allowing children to fail is an important part of their development.  They need to learn from their mistakes, learn to recover, learn to persevere.  I really liked this one excerpt:

“Think back to when your toddler learned to walk. She would take a weaving step or two, collapse and immediately look to you for your reaction. You were in thrall to those early attempts and would do everything possible to encourage her to get up again. You certainly didn’t chastise her for failing or utter dire predictions about flipping burgers for the rest of her life if she fell again. You were present, alert and available to guide if necessary. But you didn’t pick her up every time.


You knew she had to get it wrong many times before she could get it right.”

Being present, alert, and available.  Pretty much what we want from any relationship I would say.                                 

But, how do the kids flipping burgers feel?  Can't that be a noble profession, too?  Does it have to be a dire prediction?